222k Gallons of Raw Sewage Released Into the North Umpqua River Wednesday Morning

(RUSA) The contractor working under contract with Douglas County on the Highway 99 project encountered a failure of a fitting on the existing sanitary sewer pump line at the Winchester pump station, adjacent the North Umpqua River. The failure released sewer that flowed into the North Umpqua River at about 9:00 am. Roseburg Urban Sanitary Authority has posted a warning to the public of the potential hazards of coming into contact with the water on the North Umpqua River downstream of the dam at Winchester. Umpqua Basin Water Association has also been notified of the spill. Crews stopped the release at 11:40 am, approximately 222,240 gallons of sewage was released into the North Umpqua River. Higher levels of bacterial that are typically associated with sewer spills should diminish in the next few days. Roseburg Urban Sanitary Authority will continue to monitor water quality in the river downstream of the Winchester dam. Please contact Jim Baird Roseburg Urban Sanitary General Manager 541.672.1551 if you have any questions.